Direct mail elicits greater consumer attention and recall than digital advertising according to the study. It held participants' attention 118% longer than digital ads and stimulated 29% higher brand recall. Direct mail invites exploratory engagement from consumers through its tactile qualities, prolonging attention and allowing marketing messages to be fully noticed and absorbed. This results in more positive emotional and motivational responses from consumers compared to digital ads alone.
Bias for Action Neuroscience_EN_150717Linda Regier
Direct mail was found to be more effective at driving consumer action than digital advertising channels like email and display ads, according to a major neuromarketing study. Researchers used brain imaging tools like EEG and eye tracking to measure participants' cognitive load, motivation, and visual attention response to various physical and digital advertising stimuli. They found that direct mail consistently outperformed digital channels in ease of understanding and persuasiveness, as measured by brain activity in areas linked to these factors. This suggests direct mail is better able to close the gap between consumer interaction and taking action.
Direct mail outperformed digital advertising channels in driving consumer action, according to a neuromarketing study. Direct mail required 21% less mental effort to understand and led to higher brand recall than digital media like email and display ads. It also elicited stronger emotional responses, as measured by higher motivation scores. Specifically, direct mail was found to be easier to understand, more persuasive, and quicker to visually process than digital media. Overall, direct mail was better able to meet the threshold of a motivation-to-cognitive load ratio above 1, indicating it is more effective at driving behaviors like purchases. The study supports the hypothesis that direct mail's physical nature enhances its ability to stimulate the brain and guide consumer behavior.
This document summarizes Resonate's approach to targeting consumers based on their motivations. Resonate uses machine learning models trained on survey responses and content signatures to understand 150 million online adults' values and purchase motivations. It finds that targeting based on motivations outperforms demographics-only targeting and industry benchmarks, with lifts of 20-30% in various areas. Resonate's approach scales survey-based motivational insights to large online audiences by matching survey respondents to their online behaviors, allowing for motivation-based targeting of addressable audiences.
This study examines how various factors in online banner advertisements influence consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions. A survey was conducted with 300 respondents to analyze the impact of celebrity endorsements, text information, animations, banner position, and interactivity on attitudes toward banner ads and click-through intentions.
The results found that celebrity endorsements, banner position, and interactivity had a significant positive effect on attitudes toward banner ads, but text information and animations did not. Additionally, more positive attitudes toward banner ads led to greater click-through intentions. Therefore, the study suggests that how banner ads are designed and positioned, as well as their interactivity, are important in shaping consumer responses.
This study examines how various factors influence consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions regarding online banner advertisements. The author conducted a study with 300 participants to understand how elements like celebrity endorsements, animation, text information, and interactivity impact attitudes toward ads and click-through rates. The study found that these factors play a role in shaping consumer attitudes, and more positive attitudes can increase click-through intentions. The author proposes several hypotheses about the relationships between different online ad elements, attitudes, and behavioral responses.
This document discusses InsightExpress' cross media measurement methodology. It begins by outlining the need for cross media measurement to understand the impact of advertising across multiple channels. It then describes InsightExpress' approach which combines opportunity to see (OTS) measurement for offline media with experimental design for online/mobile exposure tracking. Key deliverables include analyses of campaign performance by media, cost per branding effect calculations, frequency optimization recommendations, and brand equity metrics. The methodology provides an comprehensive solution for evaluating cross channel advertising campaigns.
The proposal was selected from a hundreds of other entrants as a top 10 national finalist in the competition. This marketing research project illuminated potential areas of development through integration of consumer content and brand interactions in B2C marketing during the holiday season.
The document reports on two studies that examined the effect of nostalgia on consumer responses to advertisements. The studies found that people in a nostalgic mindset were more likely to share and have positive attitudes towards advertisements that evoked nostalgia, compared to non-nostalgic advertisements. However, people not in a nostalgic mindset did not differ in their responses based on whether the ad was nostalgic or not. Thus, the studies support the "matching hypothesis" that nostalgic advertising is most effective for people already feeling nostalgic.
Bias for Action Neuroscience_EN_150717Linda Regier
Direct mail was found to be more effective at driving consumer action than digital advertising channels like email and display ads, according to a major neuromarketing study. Researchers used brain imaging tools like EEG and eye tracking to measure participants' cognitive load, motivation, and visual attention response to various physical and digital advertising stimuli. They found that direct mail consistently outperformed digital channels in ease of understanding and persuasiveness, as measured by brain activity in areas linked to these factors. This suggests direct mail is better able to close the gap between consumer interaction and taking action.
Direct mail outperformed digital advertising channels in driving consumer action, according to a neuromarketing study. Direct mail required 21% less mental effort to understand and led to higher brand recall than digital media like email and display ads. It also elicited stronger emotional responses, as measured by higher motivation scores. Specifically, direct mail was found to be easier to understand, more persuasive, and quicker to visually process than digital media. Overall, direct mail was better able to meet the threshold of a motivation-to-cognitive load ratio above 1, indicating it is more effective at driving behaviors like purchases. The study supports the hypothesis that direct mail's physical nature enhances its ability to stimulate the brain and guide consumer behavior.
This document summarizes Resonate's approach to targeting consumers based on their motivations. Resonate uses machine learning models trained on survey responses and content signatures to understand 150 million online adults' values and purchase motivations. It finds that targeting based on motivations outperforms demographics-only targeting and industry benchmarks, with lifts of 20-30% in various areas. Resonate's approach scales survey-based motivational insights to large online audiences by matching survey respondents to their online behaviors, allowing for motivation-based targeting of addressable audiences.
This study examines how various factors in online banner advertisements influence consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions. A survey was conducted with 300 respondents to analyze the impact of celebrity endorsements, text information, animations, banner position, and interactivity on attitudes toward banner ads and click-through intentions.
The results found that celebrity endorsements, banner position, and interactivity had a significant positive effect on attitudes toward banner ads, but text information and animations did not. Additionally, more positive attitudes toward banner ads led to greater click-through intentions. Therefore, the study suggests that how banner ads are designed and positioned, as well as their interactivity, are important in shaping consumer responses.
This study examines how various factors influence consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions regarding online banner advertisements. The author conducted a study with 300 participants to understand how elements like celebrity endorsements, animation, text information, and interactivity impact attitudes toward ads and click-through rates. The study found that these factors play a role in shaping consumer attitudes, and more positive attitudes can increase click-through intentions. The author proposes several hypotheses about the relationships between different online ad elements, attitudes, and behavioral responses.
This document discusses InsightExpress' cross media measurement methodology. It begins by outlining the need for cross media measurement to understand the impact of advertising across multiple channels. It then describes InsightExpress' approach which combines opportunity to see (OTS) measurement for offline media with experimental design for online/mobile exposure tracking. Key deliverables include analyses of campaign performance by media, cost per branding effect calculations, frequency optimization recommendations, and brand equity metrics. The methodology provides an comprehensive solution for evaluating cross channel advertising campaigns.
The proposal was selected from a hundreds of other entrants as a top 10 national finalist in the competition. This marketing research project illuminated potential areas of development through integration of consumer content and brand interactions in B2C marketing during the holiday season.
The document reports on two studies that examined the effect of nostalgia on consumer responses to advertisements. The studies found that people in a nostalgic mindset were more likely to share and have positive attitudes towards advertisements that evoked nostalgia, compared to non-nostalgic advertisements. However, people not in a nostalgic mindset did not differ in their responses based on whether the ad was nostalgic or not. Thus, the studies support the "matching hypothesis" that nostalgic advertising is most effective for people already feeling nostalgic.
Dr. Timothy P. Christy outlines his 2011-2013 research plan, which includes 6 high priority projects covering topics such as gamification in advertising, the influence of social media on word-of-mouth, and how agency restructuring has affected stakeholders. The plan details each project's goals, current stage of development, potential collaborators, and targeted publications. It also provides a list of key submission deadlines for conferences and journal special issues throughout 2011-2012.
This document discusses three types of strategic focus for businesses: operational excellence, customer intimacy, and product leadership. Operational excellence involves providing standard, low-cost products to customers. Customer intimacy focuses on personalized products that exceed customer expectations. Product leadership means offering innovative, high-quality products. The rest of the document discusses how to engage customers and empower them as smart co-creators through the use of online communities and social media research.
Synergizing natural and research communities: Caring about the research ecosy...InSites Consulting
Research panels are under pressure due to declining response rates to traditional surveys. Researchers need alternatives to learn about consumer attitudes and behavior. This document discusses using social media netnography and online research communities as alternatives. It proposes a connected research philosophy to create a win-win-win for the research agency, client, and consumer. It details a research design combining social media analysis, an online community recruited from a relevant social media site, and a consumer survey about social media research. The results found value for the client in unexpected insights and understanding consumer language.
Research in the mobile mindset: Exploring the unexplored in the mobile research space (by InSites Consulting). 2012 finally seems to be the year of mobile. Smartphone penetration booms, mobile marketing budgets grow exponentially, and in the US alone, the app economy has created about half a million jobs (Mashable, 2012) in only 5 years time. In the slipstream of this, the market research industry has a close eye on the ball. Both on the technology and the methodology side, we see that our research toolbox is mobile enabled.
Most of the current research efforts are based either on mobile surveying as a tool (see, among others, Luck, 2011) or on mobile ethnography (see, among others, Atkinson & Conry, 2011). We miss a couple of dimensions in the discussion.
In this paper you can read more about the benefits of mobile surveying beyond the tool, the use of mobile in Market Research Online Communities (MROCs) and how research can help you with your mobile marketing. At the ESOMAR 3D Conference in Amsterdam (NL), the presentation by Annelies Verhaeghe & Anouk Willems was awarded Best Presentation of the 3D Conference.
Analyzing the opportunities of digital marketing in bangladesh to provide an ...IJMIT JOURNAL
The idea of marketing recently converging to Digital marketing and digital marketing is becoming the most effective means for building business-customer relationships with long-term loyalty. It is a matter of concern that how this convergence is taking place in developing countries like Bangladesh. In this paper, the impact of digital marketing on the customer engagement with products and brands is investigated using descriptive research method and is based on survey. This study attempts to find the most effective form of digital marketing in Bangladesh by taking responses using questionnaires from sample, which has been used as the primary data. This study aims to discover the factors that work background to make the customers loyal to the brand and to have a positive attitude toward brand. It also illustrates about the differences of traditional marketing and digital marketing and the changes brought by digital marketing in brands relationship marketing. Analysis of survey output shows that there is an overall positive influence of internet advertising on consumer purchase decision. It is recommended that companies should conduct a market research on different markets in various countries to identify more specific market related and regional factors.
The document summarizes 5 case studies of social action and community media campaigns:
1) SmokeFree aimed to inform people about the dangers of smoking through graphic images and facts. The posters used shocking visuals and simple messaging to grab attention.
2) Amnesty International aimed to raise awareness of domestic abuse through a dark, eye-catching poster of a beaten boy.
3) A voting campaign encouraged youth participation through a colorful poster with statistics about low youth turnout.
4) Deaffest created access to media for deaf communities through film festivals and minimalist posters communicating through sign language.
5) The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media to raise funds and awareness, using a simple
Strategic Market Research (Chapter 7): Analyzing Numeric Data to Determine W...Matthew A. Gilbert, MBA
What determines whether market research makes a difference for an organization? The difference is the approach. Strategic market research is an approach that makes a large impact on the companies that use it. In Strategic Market Research, author Anne Beall shares her unique approach for conducting market research. In addition to talking about qualitative as well as quantitative research, Strategic Market Research provides real-life examples of how these concepts have been applied in businesses and non-profit organizations. Implementing the strategic approach from the beginning to the end of a project provides information that inspires and changes organizations.
The Effectiveness between Word-of-Mouth (WOM) Marketing and Social Network on...inventionjournals
As Malaysia is aiming to become high-income country by 2020, in today’s direct selling business such as Avon, the practice of positive WOM is becoming more important with the collaboration of Social network on consumer acquirement. This paper is aim to identify the effect of WOM and Social network on AVON consumer purchase intention. After analysing data from market research shows that most women acquires cosmetic products from Avon Company, the representative’s role being extremely important. Most women buy products through the online social network catalogue, 77% of them using the products every day, often buying the personal care products. Overall this study provides a greater knowledge of how does WOM and social network work in a different perceptive to the acquirement of AVON products
1) The document discusses how consumer online feedback can impact company reputation and sales. It conducted a survey of 123 people to understand the effect of online feedback.
2) The results found that over 50% of people seek references from social networks, showing the influence of feedback. Most participants were brand conscious.
3) It was concluded that online feedback and social media are important tools for businesses to build reputation, boost sales, and gain customer loyalty through better understanding consumer perspectives. Regular feedback allows companies to improve marketing strategies.
Engage, inspire, act: Three stepstones towards developing more impactful prod...InSites Consulting
Great companies understand the importance of consumer insights when it comes to outperforming the competition. Engagement in learning and keeping knowledge up-to-date through a constant search for new insights, engagement in getting close to consumers and in getting immersed in their daily lives to inspire and understand their reality and the drivers of consumer value, these have proven to be some of the most critical corporate competencies. Engagement requires different ways of strategic thinking. It requires ‘co-ownership’ of the consumer insights within the organization. This article describes a valuable framework of how to engage and inspire an (R&D) organization via consumer insights, let them act upon the insights and move forward towards developing more impactful products and marketing. The last paragraphs look at how effective different elements of the framework have been in achieving a successful outcome, in order to learn and improve our initial way of working and to fine-tune our overall strategy.
This document summarizes a research study on how Chinese travelers adopt travel information from social media, and how self-disclosure impacts this process. The study examines whether argument quality or source credibility is more effective in influencing information adoption (RQ1). It also explores how self-disclosure biases the adoption process (RQ2). The study finds that source credibility, not argument quality, is more influential. Self-disclosure was found to negatively moderate the impact of source credibility on information usefulness. The study contributes to understanding how travelers process information on social media and how self-disclosure interacts with this process.
Think Big and Connect to the Max: How Pepsico (re)connected the Ruffles brand...InSites Consulting
PepsiCo wanted to (re)connect the Ruffles brand with the Turkish youth. For six weeks a ‘Market Research Online Community’ (or ‘Consumer Consulting Board’) was the central hub in which the dialogue between Gen Y, the Ruffles brand team and the advertising agencies of PepsiCo took place. In three sequential stages we moved from generating insights into Turkish youth’s everyday life and their aspirations over testing and fine-tuning activation platforms and campaigns to creating an understanding of the role of social media in brand activation today. To enhance decision making, we wanted to connect all stakeholders to a maximum extent with the target group. To realize that, we created several touch points between the consumer world (the research results) and the business world (the marketing team and their objectives) while sharing our research results: online and offline consumer immersion exercises with all stakeholders, intermediate debriefs and workshops, a creative brainstorming session and a live chat session with members of the community during that brainstorm. This paper gives insights into the power of using research communities to deeply understand a target group and in the value of ‘triangulation’ in qualitative research (tackling the same issue from different angles and with different eyes). It also illustrates how creating several touch points between the consumer world and the business world can deliver bigger impact on marketing thinking.
Assessing the effectiveness of illustrations in print media advert of home ap...Alexander Decker
This document summarizes a research study that assessed the effectiveness of illustrations in print media advertisements for home appliances. The study aimed to determine if illustrations attract attention, convey the advert message clearly, and influence buying interest. Survey research was conducted and data was collected through questionnaires. The results found that while illustrations attracted attention, they were often not closely related to the advert message and difficult for audiences to understand. As a result, the study recommended that illustrations should be more relevant and simple to understand, or possibly omitted altogether from ads. The theoretical framework discussed was psychodynamic theory, which posits that persuasive messages must alter the psychological functioning of recipients to be effective.
The document summarizes research conducted by 657 Insight, an advertising student group. Their research found that most students at California State University Fullerton are on family plans, with Verizon being the most popular carrier on campus. The group's campaign for AT&T, called "Because Family Matters", aimed to change perceptions and awareness by focusing on family and friends being important influences. Post-campaign surveys found AT&T rose to tie as the number one brand, and key metrics like net promoter score increased substantially.
This document outlines a research project conducted by a group of students at the university. The research project examines the impact of social media on consumer buying behavior. It includes an introduction that provides background on the topic and outlines the problem statement, research objectives, questions, limitations and significance of the study. It also includes a review of related literature and methodology section that describes the research design, data collection process, sampling technique, hypotheses and research model.
Ruffles wanted to reconnect with Turkish youth as the brand faced challenges from competitors. An online research community of 100 young people was used over 6 weeks to understand this target group. Insights were generated through online and offline research including blogs, forums, workshops. Bringing together the consumer and business perspectives enhanced decision making. The project highlighted opportunities to reposition Ruffles from a "me" to a "we" brand and make it more unisex to attract more consumers. It provided learnings on empowering Generation Y and translating insights into brand positioning and activation strategies.
Direct mail was found to be more effective at driving consumer action than digital advertising channels like email and display ads, according to a major neuromarketing study. Researchers used brain imaging tools like EEG and eye tracking to measure participants' cognitive load, motivation, and visual attention response to various physical and digital advertising stimuli. They found that direct mail consistently outperformed digital channels in ease of understanding and persuasiveness, as measured by brain activity in areas linked to these factors. This suggests direct mail is better able to close the gap between consumer interaction and taking action.
Direct mail proved to be the most effective advertising media according to a major neuromarketing study. It outperformed digital channels like email and display ads. Specifically:
- Direct mail required 21% less cognitive effort to understand and elicited higher brand recall than digital media.
- Direct mail was more persuasive, with motivation responses that were 20% higher, and appealing to multiple senses further increased persuasiveness.
- Direct mail was visually processed quicker, suggesting messages were absorbed faster when considering its higher motivation and lower cognitive load.
- Direct mail was more likely to drive behavior by surpassing the important motivation-to-cognitive load ratio threshold of 1.
How do green firms appeal users with pop ups...sibr pptDaniel LK
This document summarizes a study that explored how green firms use pop-up and in-line ads to appeal to and influence consumers' attitudes. The study developed a research framework based on existing advertising literature and proposed hypotheses about how factors like emotion, entertainment, credibility and irritation affect attitudes toward green ads. A quantitative survey was conducted and found entertainment and credibility were most important in influencing attitudes, while irritation was less so. The study provides suggestions for further research with larger sample sizes and examining specific green products or media.
Investigating the types of e advertising strategyadvertising strategy and i...Alexander Decker
This document discusses different types of online advertising strategies and their influence on consumer buying behavior. It begins by defining online/e-advertising and some common online advertising methods like banner ads, social media advertising, and email marketing. It then describes three main types of online advertising strategies: banner advertising, animated banner ads, interactive banner ads, and transactional banner ads. The document aims to examine the relationship between environmental responses and emotional responses to advertising as independent variables, and their impact on consumer buying behavior as the dependent variable.
Dr. Timothy P. Christy outlines his 2011-2013 research plan, which includes 6 high priority projects covering topics such as gamification in advertising, the influence of social media on word-of-mouth, and how agency restructuring has affected stakeholders. The plan details each project's goals, current stage of development, potential collaborators, and targeted publications. It also provides a list of key submission deadlines for conferences and journal special issues throughout 2011-2012.
This document discusses three types of strategic focus for businesses: operational excellence, customer intimacy, and product leadership. Operational excellence involves providing standard, low-cost products to customers. Customer intimacy focuses on personalized products that exceed customer expectations. Product leadership means offering innovative, high-quality products. The rest of the document discusses how to engage customers and empower them as smart co-creators through the use of online communities and social media research.
Synergizing natural and research communities: Caring about the research ecosy...InSites Consulting
Research panels are under pressure due to declining response rates to traditional surveys. Researchers need alternatives to learn about consumer attitudes and behavior. This document discusses using social media netnography and online research communities as alternatives. It proposes a connected research philosophy to create a win-win-win for the research agency, client, and consumer. It details a research design combining social media analysis, an online community recruited from a relevant social media site, and a consumer survey about social media research. The results found value for the client in unexpected insights and understanding consumer language.
Research in the mobile mindset: Exploring the unexplored in the mobile research space (by InSites Consulting). 2012 finally seems to be the year of mobile. Smartphone penetration booms, mobile marketing budgets grow exponentially, and in the US alone, the app economy has created about half a million jobs (Mashable, 2012) in only 5 years time. In the slipstream of this, the market research industry has a close eye on the ball. Both on the technology and the methodology side, we see that our research toolbox is mobile enabled.
Most of the current research efforts are based either on mobile surveying as a tool (see, among others, Luck, 2011) or on mobile ethnography (see, among others, Atkinson & Conry, 2011). We miss a couple of dimensions in the discussion.
In this paper you can read more about the benefits of mobile surveying beyond the tool, the use of mobile in Market Research Online Communities (MROCs) and how research can help you with your mobile marketing. At the ESOMAR 3D Conference in Amsterdam (NL), the presentation by Annelies Verhaeghe & Anouk Willems was awarded Best Presentation of the 3D Conference.
Analyzing the opportunities of digital marketing in bangladesh to provide an ...IJMIT JOURNAL
The idea of marketing recently converging to Digital marketing and digital marketing is becoming the most effective means for building business-customer relationships with long-term loyalty. It is a matter of concern that how this convergence is taking place in developing countries like Bangladesh. In this paper, the impact of digital marketing on the customer engagement with products and brands is investigated using descriptive research method and is based on survey. This study attempts to find the most effective form of digital marketing in Bangladesh by taking responses using questionnaires from sample, which has been used as the primary data. This study aims to discover the factors that work background to make the customers loyal to the brand and to have a positive attitude toward brand. It also illustrates about the differences of traditional marketing and digital marketing and the changes brought by digital marketing in brands relationship marketing. Analysis of survey output shows that there is an overall positive influence of internet advertising on consumer purchase decision. It is recommended that companies should conduct a market research on different markets in various countries to identify more specific market related and regional factors.
The document summarizes 5 case studies of social action and community media campaigns:
1) SmokeFree aimed to inform people about the dangers of smoking through graphic images and facts. The posters used shocking visuals and simple messaging to grab attention.
2) Amnesty International aimed to raise awareness of domestic abuse through a dark, eye-catching poster of a beaten boy.
3) A voting campaign encouraged youth participation through a colorful poster with statistics about low youth turnout.
4) Deaffest created access to media for deaf communities through film festivals and minimalist posters communicating through sign language.
5) The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media to raise funds and awareness, using a simple
Strategic Market Research (Chapter 7): Analyzing Numeric Data to Determine W...Matthew A. Gilbert, MBA
What determines whether market research makes a difference for an organization? The difference is the approach. Strategic market research is an approach that makes a large impact on the companies that use it. In Strategic Market Research, author Anne Beall shares her unique approach for conducting market research. In addition to talking about qualitative as well as quantitative research, Strategic Market Research provides real-life examples of how these concepts have been applied in businesses and non-profit organizations. Implementing the strategic approach from the beginning to the end of a project provides information that inspires and changes organizations.
The Effectiveness between Word-of-Mouth (WOM) Marketing and Social Network on...inventionjournals
As Malaysia is aiming to become high-income country by 2020, in today’s direct selling business such as Avon, the practice of positive WOM is becoming more important with the collaboration of Social network on consumer acquirement. This paper is aim to identify the effect of WOM and Social network on AVON consumer purchase intention. After analysing data from market research shows that most women acquires cosmetic products from Avon Company, the representative’s role being extremely important. Most women buy products through the online social network catalogue, 77% of them using the products every day, often buying the personal care products. Overall this study provides a greater knowledge of how does WOM and social network work in a different perceptive to the acquirement of AVON products
1) The document discusses how consumer online feedback can impact company reputation and sales. It conducted a survey of 123 people to understand the effect of online feedback.
2) The results found that over 50% of people seek references from social networks, showing the influence of feedback. Most participants were brand conscious.
3) It was concluded that online feedback and social media are important tools for businesses to build reputation, boost sales, and gain customer loyalty through better understanding consumer perspectives. Regular feedback allows companies to improve marketing strategies.
Engage, inspire, act: Three stepstones towards developing more impactful prod...InSites Consulting
Great companies understand the importance of consumer insights when it comes to outperforming the competition. Engagement in learning and keeping knowledge up-to-date through a constant search for new insights, engagement in getting close to consumers and in getting immersed in their daily lives to inspire and understand their reality and the drivers of consumer value, these have proven to be some of the most critical corporate competencies. Engagement requires different ways of strategic thinking. It requires ‘co-ownership’ of the consumer insights within the organization. This article describes a valuable framework of how to engage and inspire an (R&D) organization via consumer insights, let them act upon the insights and move forward towards developing more impactful products and marketing. The last paragraphs look at how effective different elements of the framework have been in achieving a successful outcome, in order to learn and improve our initial way of working and to fine-tune our overall strategy.
This document summarizes a research study on how Chinese travelers adopt travel information from social media, and how self-disclosure impacts this process. The study examines whether argument quality or source credibility is more effective in influencing information adoption (RQ1). It also explores how self-disclosure biases the adoption process (RQ2). The study finds that source credibility, not argument quality, is more influential. Self-disclosure was found to negatively moderate the impact of source credibility on information usefulness. The study contributes to understanding how travelers process information on social media and how self-disclosure interacts with this process.
Think Big and Connect to the Max: How Pepsico (re)connected the Ruffles brand...InSites Consulting
PepsiCo wanted to (re)connect the Ruffles brand with the Turkish youth. For six weeks a ‘Market Research Online Community’ (or ‘Consumer Consulting Board’) was the central hub in which the dialogue between Gen Y, the Ruffles brand team and the advertising agencies of PepsiCo took place. In three sequential stages we moved from generating insights into Turkish youth’s everyday life and their aspirations over testing and fine-tuning activation platforms and campaigns to creating an understanding of the role of social media in brand activation today. To enhance decision making, we wanted to connect all stakeholders to a maximum extent with the target group. To realize that, we created several touch points between the consumer world (the research results) and the business world (the marketing team and their objectives) while sharing our research results: online and offline consumer immersion exercises with all stakeholders, intermediate debriefs and workshops, a creative brainstorming session and a live chat session with members of the community during that brainstorm. This paper gives insights into the power of using research communities to deeply understand a target group and in the value of ‘triangulation’ in qualitative research (tackling the same issue from different angles and with different eyes). It also illustrates how creating several touch points between the consumer world and the business world can deliver bigger impact on marketing thinking.
Assessing the effectiveness of illustrations in print media advert of home ap...Alexander Decker
This document summarizes a research study that assessed the effectiveness of illustrations in print media advertisements for home appliances. The study aimed to determine if illustrations attract attention, convey the advert message clearly, and influence buying interest. Survey research was conducted and data was collected through questionnaires. The results found that while illustrations attracted attention, they were often not closely related to the advert message and difficult for audiences to understand. As a result, the study recommended that illustrations should be more relevant and simple to understand, or possibly omitted altogether from ads. The theoretical framework discussed was psychodynamic theory, which posits that persuasive messages must alter the psychological functioning of recipients to be effective.
The document summarizes research conducted by 657 Insight, an advertising student group. Their research found that most students at California State University Fullerton are on family plans, with Verizon being the most popular carrier on campus. The group's campaign for AT&T, called "Because Family Matters", aimed to change perceptions and awareness by focusing on family and friends being important influences. Post-campaign surveys found AT&T rose to tie as the number one brand, and key metrics like net promoter score increased substantially.
This document outlines a research project conducted by a group of students at the university. The research project examines the impact of social media on consumer buying behavior. It includes an introduction that provides background on the topic and outlines the problem statement, research objectives, questions, limitations and significance of the study. It also includes a review of related literature and methodology section that describes the research design, data collection process, sampling technique, hypotheses and research model.
Ruffles wanted to reconnect with Turkish youth as the brand faced challenges from competitors. An online research community of 100 young people was used over 6 weeks to understand this target group. Insights were generated through online and offline research including blogs, forums, workshops. Bringing together the consumer and business perspectives enhanced decision making. The project highlighted opportunities to reposition Ruffles from a "me" to a "we" brand and make it more unisex to attract more consumers. It provided learnings on empowering Generation Y and translating insights into brand positioning and activation strategies.
Direct mail was found to be more effective at driving consumer action than digital advertising channels like email and display ads, according to a major neuromarketing study. Researchers used brain imaging tools like EEG and eye tracking to measure participants' cognitive load, motivation, and visual attention response to various physical and digital advertising stimuli. They found that direct mail consistently outperformed digital channels in ease of understanding and persuasiveness, as measured by brain activity in areas linked to these factors. This suggests direct mail is better able to close the gap between consumer interaction and taking action.
Direct mail proved to be the most effective advertising media according to a major neuromarketing study. It outperformed digital channels like email and display ads. Specifically:
- Direct mail required 21% less cognitive effort to understand and elicited higher brand recall than digital media.
- Direct mail was more persuasive, with motivation responses that were 20% higher, and appealing to multiple senses further increased persuasiveness.
- Direct mail was visually processed quicker, suggesting messages were absorbed faster when considering its higher motivation and lower cognitive load.
- Direct mail was more likely to drive behavior by surpassing the important motivation-to-cognitive load ratio threshold of 1.
How do green firms appeal users with pop ups...sibr pptDaniel LK
This document summarizes a study that explored how green firms use pop-up and in-line ads to appeal to and influence consumers' attitudes. The study developed a research framework based on existing advertising literature and proposed hypotheses about how factors like emotion, entertainment, credibility and irritation affect attitudes toward green ads. A quantitative survey was conducted and found entertainment and credibility were most important in influencing attitudes, while irritation was less so. The study provides suggestions for further research with larger sample sizes and examining specific green products or media.
Investigating the types of e advertising strategyadvertising strategy and i...Alexander Decker
This document discusses different types of online advertising strategies and their influence on consumer buying behavior. It begins by defining online/e-advertising and some common online advertising methods like banner ads, social media advertising, and email marketing. It then describes three main types of online advertising strategies: banner advertising, animated banner ads, interactive banner ads, and transactional banner ads. The document aims to examine the relationship between environmental responses and emotional responses to advertising as independent variables, and their impact on consumer buying behavior as the dependent variable.
Investigating the types of e advertising strategyadvertising strategy and i...Alexander Decker
This document discusses different types of online advertising strategies and their influence on consumer buying behavior. It begins by defining online/e-advertising and some common online advertising strategies like banner ads, social media advertising, and email marketing. It then describes three main types of banner ads: animated banners, interactive banners, and transactional banners. The purpose is to examine the relationship between environmental responses and emotional responses to advertising (independent variables) and their impact on consumer buying behavior (dependent variable).
A joint initiative conducted by MSL and SPARK Neuro gives PR pros true cause for excitement. What was once only subjective – how much people are engaged with content and their emotional experience with it – can now be directly quantified by reading brain activity and other neurological responses.
For more information about Conversation2Commerce, email Erin.Lanuti@mslgroup.com or visit www.publicisC2C.com.
True Impact conducted a neuromarketing study of m-commerce applications, in partnership with Plastic Mobile. The applications included Pizza Pizza, Best Buy and Hyatt.
While it will always remain important to measure explicit responses through surveys or focus groups, we must not underestimate the power of emotions in driving decision making. They are automatic, instant gut feelings that we are often unaware of, yet they are the best indicators of behaviour. When paired with traditional marketing research methodologies, neuroscience helps measure these feelings and provides a more complete, colourful and interesting picture of the customer – one that portrays him as much more than data.
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1. CONNECTING
FOR ACTION
A neuromarketing look at how direct mail works with digital
advertising in integrated campaigns to optimize consumer
attention, emotional engagement and brand recall.
2. EACH MEDIA
CHANNEL IS LIKE
AN INSTRUMENT
IN A SYMPHONY,
WITH ITS OWN
UNIQUE IMPACT
PROFILE AND
ROLE TO PLAY
Elissa Moses, CEO of Ipsos’s
Neuro & Behavioral Science
Center of Excellence
3. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 03
How do today’s consumers consciously and unconsciously engage with
different forms of advertising media – direct mail, email, display and
pre-roll video, specifically?
Do integrated media campaigns that combine direct mail and digital advertising have the same consumer
impact as digital-only campaigns? And what effects does the sequencing of direct mail and digital
advertising in integrated campaigns bring to bear on engagement? In a first-of-its-kind study that used
a combination of neurophysiological and survey techniques, Canada Post and Ipsos found:
Media format has a deep influence on the way consumers engage with brands and advertising messages.
Integrated campaigns that include direct mail elicit greater consumer attention and better provoke
the emotional engagement and brand recall that drive action than single-media digital campaigns.
Media sequencing matters. This study suggests that direct mail’s impact on consumer engagement
with integrated campaigns may be strongest when it follows digital advertising.
ABSTRACT
4. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 04
CONTENTS
05 INTRODUCTION
08 ABOUT THE RESEARCH
14 RESEARCH RESULTS: INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
40 RESEARCH RESULTS: SEQUENCING EFFECTS
28 RESEARCH RESULTS: COMBINATION EFFECTS
45 CONCLUSION
47 APPENDICES
53 SOURCES
06 KEY TAKEAWAYS
5. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 05
INTRODUCTION
In our rapidly changing media landscape, marketers have more
communication options than they’ve ever had – but so do the consumers
whose attention they seek. The question is: how can they achieve meaningful
impact and, ultimately, spur consumer action?
At Canada Post, we’re committed to helping marketers understand how best to leverage direct mail – both on
its own and as part of an integrated marketing strategy – to maximize consumer impact and business results.
As part of this commitment, we partnered with a team of neuroscience experts at Ipsos on an integrated
media study that examined the role of direct mail and various forms of digital advertising (email, display and
pre-roll video) in integrated campaigns, and the impact of media sequencing on consumer engagement.
This study was the first of its kind to combine this particular set of media, and also the first to look at the
consumer impact of media sequencing. “This was a dream study for any curious researcher in the ad space,”
says Elissa Moses, CEO of Ipsos’ Neuro & Behavioral Science Center of Excellence. “It offered the opportunity
to bring a new perspective to media planning by breaking ground in our understanding of the relative impact
of various advertising media and the influence of sequencing on optimizing that impact. The study left me
with two important new insights. First, each media channel is like an instrument in a symphony, with its own
unique impact profile and role to play. Second, digital advertising provides value in its own right, but greater
value when it’s combined and properly sequenced with direct mail.”
The findings of this integrated media study, presented in this paper, build on two studies we published in 2015:
Our neuroscience study, A Bias for Action, revealed that direct mail’s tactile qualities have a deep,
neurological impact on consumers. Mail proved 21% easier to understand and 20% more motivating
than digital advertisements (email and display). Because of this, it’s more effective at triggering
consumer choice and action.
Our ethnographic study, Breaking Through the Noise, traced mail’s distinct journey through the
home. We found that direct mail is wrapped in the ritual of arriving home, which gives it inherent
noticeability and impact. And when direct mail is considered interesting, it is saved for later, shared
with others and even displayed in prominent areas of the home.
6. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 06
KEY TAKEAWAYS
1
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
Media format has a deep influence on the way consumers engage
with brands and advertising messages:
Direct mail offers a personal, sensory experience that triggers consumer emotions and
action, while maximizing attention and recall. In this study, it held participant attention
for 118% longer and stimulated 29% higher brand recall than digital advertising.
When opened, email enforces key marketing messages and encodes them into
memory. In this study, offer recall for email was on par with direct mail (57%),
39% higher than for display, and 27% higher than for pre-roll.
Display can stir excitement and motivation in consumers, but this effect is tempered
by the limited attention it captures. In this study, most (53%) participants failed to
notice the display ads altogether. Those who did notice the ads spent 66% less time
with them than the other advertising media.
When viewed, pre-roll provides an exciting media experience that promotes brand
engagement. In this study, it attracted the greatest share of attention towards
brand logos and outperformed display for brand recall by 54%.
7. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 07
Considering this study’s sample
size, differences in motivation and
arousal are considered significant
at the 90% confidence interval
when the difference between two
measures is 3% or more.
See page 13 for more details.
2
COMBINATION EFFECTS
Integrated campaigns that include direct mail elicit greater consumer
attention and better provoke the emotional engagement and brand recall
that drive action than single-media digital campaigns. Specifically:
Integrated direct mail and digital campaigns elicit 39% more attention (time spent)
than single-media digital campaigns.
Integrated direct mail and digital campaigns trigger 5% more emotional intensity
(arousal) than single-media digital campaigns.
Integrated direct mail and digital campaigns elicit 10% higher brand recall than
single-media digital campaigns.
3
SEQUENCING EFFECTS
Media sequencing matters. This study suggests that direct mail’s impact
on consumer engagement with integrated campaigns may be strongest
when it follows digital advertising:
Brand recall peaks when direct mail
follows email, outperforming the average
for the other single and integrated media
campaigns by 40%.
Arousal peaks when direct mail follows
display, outperforming the average for
the other single and integrated media
campaigns by 26%.
Motivation peaks when direct mail follows
pre-roll, outperforming the average for
the other single and integrated media
campaigns by 3%.
WHAT MAKES A
GOOD SCORE?
8. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 08
Neuromarketing is the application of
neuroscience to marketing. It draws on
neuroscience tools to study the effect of
marketing stimuli on consumers’ sensory,
cognitive and emotional responses.
System 1 is the non-conscious and emotional
mode of response that reacts quickly and
without conscious filtering to stimuli.
System 2 is the conscious, rational and
considered mode of thought that is not
only slower and more effortful than System
1 thinking, but can be used to modulate
System 1 response mechanisms.
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a
neurophysiological measurement of
electrical activity in the brain.
Eye tracking is the process of measuring
the gaze and movement of the eyes using
glasses equipped with small, specialized
cameras. Data derived from eye-tracking
tests can help researchers understand how
their subject’s attention is being captured
by particular experiences or stimuli.
DEFINITIONS
RESEARCH APPROACH AND TECHNIQUES
The researchers followed an integrated and
rigorous research protocol that combined
cutting-edge neurophysiological (EEG and eye
tracking) techniques with traditional surveys,
and involved no human intervention. This
holistic approach allowed them to examine
participants’ non-conscious (System 1)
and conscious (System 2) responses to the
campaigns presented.
SYSTEM 1 TECHNIQUES AND METRICS
System 1 responses occur at a deeper level
than those consciously experienced and call for
a sophisticated palette of research tools, such
as EEG and eye tracking.
This paper contains the results of a neuromarketing study conducted for Canada Post by Ipsos in
partnership with Neurons Inc.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
9. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 09
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the
nervous system.
Arousal is the bodily response of general
excitement that a person exhibits towards
a stimulus. It is linked to both pleasure
and fear, and plays a primary role in
emotional reactions, memory processing
and decision-making. The more emotionally
arousing a stimulus, the more accurately it is
likely to be experienced and remembered.
Motivation is a measure of approach versus
avoidance behaviour. High motivation
responses stimulate positive feelings and
approach behaviours, engaging a region
of the brain called the ventral striatum.
Researchers have found that engagement
of this brain region is highly predictive of
actual consumer choice.
Attention is the process of directing visual
focus towards certain areas of a stimulus
at the cost of others.
Aided recall is a marketing research
technique for testing the memorability of
brands and advertisements. Test subjects
are shown an advertisement and asked to
remember their previous exposure to it.
EEG recordings allowed the researchers to
assess participants’ emotional responses to the
advertisements. In neuroscience, emotions
are assessed for their intensity (high or low)
and their direction (positive or negative).
Arousal indicates the intensity of an emotional
experience, while motivation indicates
its direction.
Eye tracking helped the researchers interpret the
EEG data by showing them how long, and at
which moments each participant’s attention
was captured by particular experiences or stimuli.
SYSTEM 2 TECHNIQUES AND METRICS
Since System 2 responses are consciously
felt, they can be assessed using traditional
survey techniques.
An online post-survey was issued to participants
the day after media exposure in order to assess
their aided recall of the brands (advertisers)
and offers presented, as well as their typical
attitudes, feelings and perceptions towards each
of the advertising media tested.
DEFINITIONS
10. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 10
EVENT
Emotions are a person’s expression of their inner/bodily
state. They occur both before and without consciousness.
Feelings are a person’s experience of being in a
certain emotional state. They are always associated
with consciousness.
Figure source: Ramsøy, Thomas Z., Introduction to
Neuromarketing and Consumer Neuroscience, 2015
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
EMOTIONS, FEELINGS AND ACTION
The distinction between emotions
and feelings may seem subtle but is
actually profound. Emotions are a
person’s non-conscious expression
of their inner/bodily state. Feelings,
on the other hand, are a person’s
conscious experience of being in a
certain emotional state.
Both emotions and feelings have a
causal effect on consumer action,
but the nature of the relationship
differs. That is, consumer responses
begin at an emotional level.
Emotions then trigger feelings
and/or actions, and sometimes
trigger both simultaneously.
A person cannot have feelings without
emotions, but they can have emotions
without feelings. That is, their brain
can show a change in response to a
particular event in a way that evades
their conscious awareness. So even
emotions that do not lead to feelings
can still lead to choice and action.
This is why combining System 1 and
System 2 research techniques can
improve the predictive power of
consumer research.
EMOTIONS
FEELINGSACTION
DEFINITIONS
11. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 11
The research facility is prepared for the arrival of
the first participants.
A participant is fitted with an EEG headset and
eye-tracking glasses.
The research technician benchmarks a participant
for metrics.
ADVERTISING STIMULI
Two integrated campaigns featuring
simulated retail brands were
developed for this study – one from
a home furnishings retailer, and the
other from a fashion retailer. The
same creative, messaging and offers
were applied across each campaign,
and optimized for the media tested:
• Direct mail
(self-mailer, addressed);
• Email;
• Display (animated); and
• Video pre-roll
(16 seconds, unskippable)1
.
12. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 12
MIXED
MEDIA GROUPS
SINGLE
MEDIA GROUPS
Direct Mail / Email
Direct Mail / Pre-Roll
Direct Mail / Display
+
+
+
1ST
Exposure
1ST
Exposure
1ST
Exposure
2ND
Exposure
2ND
Exposure
2ND
Exposure
Email / Direct Mail
Pre-Roll / Direct Mail
Display / Direct Mail
+
+
+
2ND
Exposure
2ND
Exposure
2ND
Exposure
1ST
Exposure
1ST
Exposure
1ST
Exposure
TESTING APPROACH
• Each participant was exposed to two
different media types for each of the
two campaigns tested.
• Participants’ physiological measurements
were taken unobtrusively by the research
technicians as they interacted with
each media.
• Between exposures, participants were
shown a 10-minute TED TalkTM
as a
distraction task to “cleanse” their minds
of the first set of media they had seen.
• An online post-survey was sent to and
completed by participants via email the
following day.
Direct Mail / Direct Mail
Email / Email
Pre-Roll / Pre-Roll
Display / Display
+
+
+
+
1ST
Exposure
1ST
Exposure
1ST
Exposure
1ST
Exposure
2ND
Exposure
2ND
Exposure
2ND
Exposure
2ND
Exposure
13. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 13
WHAT MAKES A GOOD SCORE?
Considering this study’s sample size,
differences in motivation and arousal
are considered significant at the
90% confidence interval when the
difference between two measures
is 3% or more. Due to the nature of
the motivation response in particular,
which is log-transformed, small
changes translate into exponentially
larger, relevant changes in behaviour.
Likewise, a change of a few
percentages in attention can
translate into larger changes in
emotional responses.
Log transformation is a method used in statistical
research to visualize and model skewed data (data that
ranges over several orders of magnitude) by minimizing
the influence of outliers.
DEFINITIONS
14. RESEARCH RESULTS
Media format has a deep influence on the
way consumers engage with brands and
advertising messages.
Before exploring the role of direct mail, email,
display and pre-roll in integrated campaigns,
let’s look at how each media engages
consumers independently – from the way they
capture and direct consumer attention to the
emotions and feelings they give rise to, and the
extent to which brands and offers presented
in them are accurately recalled.
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
KEY TAKEAWAY #1
15. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 15
DIRECT MAIL offers a personal, sensory experience that triggers consumer
emotions and action, while maximizing attention and recall. In this study, it held
participant attention for 118% longer and stimulated 29% higher brand recall
than digital advertising.
TIME SPENT – 1ST
EXPOSURE
(SECONDS)
118% more time spent with direct mail than
digital advertising.
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
Consumer attention is an essential
ingredient for effective advertising,
but it has never been harder to get.
Not only is there intense competition
for it, but consumers’ attention spans
are shrinking – from an average of 12
seconds in 2000 to just eight seconds
in 2015. To put this in context, the
average attention span of a goldfish
is nine seconds2
.
Direct mail is unique in its ability to
draw consumers in for a long time.
In this study, participants spent
37 seconds, on average, with their
first exposure of direct mail – 118%
more time than they spent with
digital advertising.
TIME SPENT
37
26
9
16
DIRECTMAILEMAILDISPLAYPRE-ROLL
118%
DIFFERENCE
17
AVERAGE =
16. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 16
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
Direct mail also invites a high degree
of visual exploration from consumers.
In this study, participants made effective
use of their 37 seconds with the medium,
distributing their attention fairly evenly
across the creative.
The prolonged, exploratory engagement
that direct mail elicits gives marketers
a leg up in the battle for attention
and increases the odds that all their
messages will be noticed and absorbed.
As consumers attend to direct mail,
they respond positively. Neuromarketing
studies on the medium have consistently
shown that it triggers activity in an
area of the brain (ventral striatum)
responsible for motivation, which is
linked with desirability and purchase
intent.3
For instance, in a 2015 study
that tested consumer motivation
across a variety of direct mail and
digital advertising formats, we found
that direct mail inspires a 20% higher
motivation response than digital
advertising.4
We also found that the
more a direct mail piece appeals to the
senses (tactile or otherwise), the more
motivating it tends to be.5
A heat map is a visual representation of how many
people are looking at a particular area of a stimulus.
Each person’s eye fixation is represented by a green
dot, and as more people look at the same region,
its colour becomes warmer. This visualization allows
researchers to see whether attention is strongly guided
by certain elements, and whether some elements are
going unnoticed altogether.
Direct mail evokes visual exploration
In neuromarketing research, heat maps
are used to visualize eye-tracking data.
The heat maps below show that direct
mail distributes visual attention fairly
evenly across the important elements of
the creative (e.g., brand logo, product,
call-to-action, offer, content).
EYE TRACKING
17. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 17
57%
57%
41%
45%
DIRECTMAIL
DIRECTMAIL>
EMAIL
EMAIL>
DISPLAY
DISPLAY>
PRE-ROLL
PRE-ROLL>
66%
60%
37%
57%
DIRECTMAIL
DIRECTMAIL>
EMAIL
EMAIL>
DISPLAY
DISPLAY>
PRE-ROLL
PRE-ROLL>BRAND RECALL
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
Direct mail and email set a high standard
for brand and offer recall (aided).
RECALL
When participants in this integrated
media study were asked to think
about their typical reactions towards
receiving addressed advertising mail,
their prevalent reaction was that it’s a
personal experience that makes them
feel special and valued by brands.
Many even said they read it more
thoroughly than other forms
of advertising.
Consumer surveys consistently
reinforce Canadians’ attentiveness and
openness to direct mail. Seven in 10
(74%) consumers always or sometimes
notice advertising in direct mail6
, nine
in 10 (85%) open mail that looks
interesting7
, and seven in 10 (67%)
read direct mail.8
Once read, direct mail messages
are easily encoded into memory. In
the aided recall test issued the day
following media exposure, 66% of the
participants exposed to the direct mail
campaigns remembered the brands
they had seen (outperforming all the
digital advertisements tested). The fact
that both of the brands featured on
the campaigns tested were simulated,
and thus unknown, made them
particularly challenging for participants
to remember. Because of this, direct
mail’s strong performance on the
brand recall test is highly meaningful.
Offer recall among those exposed to
direct mail was also strong, at 57%.
OFFER RECALL
18. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 18
Direct mail’s impact on consumer
attention, emotions and memory is
extended and multiplied when we
consider its lasting effect in their
surrounding environments. That is,
when consumers find mail interesting,
they save it for future reference, share
it with others and even display it in
prominent areas of their homes.9
I always think it is important and give it a keen
eye because it is for me and they probably know
something about me. It makes me feel special
and valued.
I usually read it more thoroughly. I feel like the
company has taken the time to get my address
and label the mail.
I feel more valued as a customer – feel less that
I am just one amongst the ‘masses’.
WHAT PARTICIPANTS
SAID ABOUT DIRECT
MAIL ADVERTISING:
Quotes from participants
about direct mail advertising
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
PERSONAL
SPECIAL
KEENEYE
CUSTOMER
EMOTIONS
IMPORTANT
ABOUT ME
GIVE
ABOUTINTERESTED
NOTICE
ATTENTION
POSITIVE
READ
AROUSAL
MOTIVATION
19. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 19
When opened, EMAIL enforces key marketing messages and encodes them into
memory. In this study, offer recall for email was on par with direct mail (57%), 39%
higher than for display, and 27% higher than for pre-roll.
Consumers read email advertisements
fairly quickly. In the integrated media
study, participants spent 26 seconds
with the email advertisements (30%
less time than they spent with direct
mail, but more time than with display
and pre-roll). Engagement with this
medium is rather fluid, with consumers
checking their inboxes repetitively as
they move through their day.10
Email attracts a less exploratory,
and more focused, form of visual
engagement than direct mail. When
exposed to email in this study,
participants’ attention was drawn
primarily towards the product and
copy elements (e.g., call-to-action and
offer), suggesting this medium can
be an effective way to enforce key
promotional messages.
Once read, email marketing messages,
such as offers, are easily remembered.
In the post-survey, participants
exposed to the email campaign
had the highest offer recall, at 57%
(on par with direct mail) and the
second-highest brand recall, at 60%
(trailing only direct mail).
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
Email enforces messaging
Participants exposed to email in the
eye-tracking study focused their attention
primarily on the product and copy elements
(content, call-to-action and offer).
EYE TRACKING
20. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 20
The July 2014 introduction of the
Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation
(CASL), however, limits email’s
benefits largely to existing customer
communications. That is, CASL applies
a consent restriction to the use of
email and other so-called “commercial
electronic messages,” which typically
implies a pre-existing relationship with
the message recipient.
Another challenge with email is its
limited ability to elicit emotional
engagement from consumers. Among
the media tested in this study, it
generated the lowest motivation in
participants. Over-communication
can amplify this problem by further
decreasing engagement and triggering
“email fatigue,” a phenomenon that
drives consumers to ignore, delete, and
even unsubscribe to email from brands.
In Canada, the median unique open
rate for email is now just 11.4% and
the median click-through rate is 0.6%.11
The signs of email fatigue can be
observed in consumers’ non-conscious
responses to advertisements. In this
integrated media study, participants
exposed to the email campaigns
experienced declines in both arousal
and motivation from the first to the
second exposure.
The unique open rate measures one open per recipient
and is expressed as a percentage of the total number
of delivered email messages (unique opens ÷ delivered
emails = unique open rate).
The click-through rate is the percentage of advertisements
that drew at least one click (unique clicks ÷ delivered
advertisements = unique click-through rate).
DEFINITIONS
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
21. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 21
If I were a previous customer, I would appreciate
the email as a valued customer. I would disregard
it as spam if not a previous customer.
I don’t take email offers seriously and delete them
right away. I always feel it’s a scam and someone
is trying to get my personal info.
Depends how often. Daily is a nuisance. I like to
look at them about once a week. Then it’s a treat,
especially if it’s a sale.
Quotes from participants
about email advertising
This integrated media study did not
reflect real-life contexts in terms
of email open behaviour. That is,
all participants were specifically
instructed to find and open the email
advertisements from their inboxes.
This forced exposure positively
influenced recall. That is, if open rates
in the study were in line with the
current market average of 11%, recall
performance would have certainly
been lower – as would the reliability
of the associated test results (due to
smaller sample sizes).
WHAT PARTICIPANTS
SAID ABOUT EMAIL
ADVERTISING:
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
PREVIOUS
JUNK
DEPENDS
CLEAR
AWAY CLICKSPAM DAILY
UNSUBSCRIBE
MAIL
APPRECIATE
EMAIL
PERSONAL
CONSIDER
TAKE
DEALS
DELETEOFFERS
INBOXVALUED
SALE
22. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 22
DISPLAY can stir excitement and motivation in consumers, but this effect is
tempered by the limited attention it captures. In this study, most (53%) participants
failed to notice the display ads altogether. Those who did notice the ads spent 66%
less time with them than the other advertising media.
Display affords marketers the
opportunity to reach a broad audience
at a low cost. The challenge, however,
is getting noticed by that audience.
In the integrated media study, the
display ads were presented on
a popular weather website, but
participants were not specifically
instructed to look at them. And as
is often the case in market, few
did. In fact, less than half (47%)
of participants exposed to display
campaigns noticed the display ads
at all. Nine in ten (86%) noticed the
first exposure and just one in 10
(7%) noticed the second.
This sort of “banner blindness,” has
been well-known to advertisers for
some time. A newer issue is the growing
adoption of ad blockers, which
allow consumers to opt out from being
presented display and other forms of
online advertising altogether. There are
now some 6.5 million active ad blocking
software users in Canada, which account
for 20% of the online population.12
Display captures
selective attention, at best
Product and copy (e.g., content, call-to-action
and offer) elements presented in display ads
all received low attention from participants.
EYE TRACKING
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
23. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 23
Mobile advertisements – both in-app and
mobile web ads – are not invulnerable to ad
blocking. One in five (21%) of the world’s
smartphone owners use mobile ad blocking
browsers.13
Meanwhile, display ads that are
served to mobile audiences have limited
creative real estate for attention-grabbing
content, with standard dimensions of about
8 by 1 centimeters (320 by 50 pixels).14
Display’s low attention levels lead to low
consumer action. Click-through rates
for standard display ads in Canada have
plummeted to just 0.06%.15
They also inhibit
memorability. In this integrated media study,
display elicited the lowest recall of both
brands (37%) and offers (41%).
In neuromarketing research, as with
everyday media contexts, an advertisement
must be noticed in order to trigger a
neurophysiological reaction. Since
over half of participants exposed to the
display campaigns failed to notice the
advertisements, the neurophysiological
findings associated with this media can only
be taken as directional (due to small sample
sizes). That said, directional findings from this
study suggest that when noticed, display can
inspire emotional engagement in consumers.
Those participants who noticed the display ads
exhibited relatively high levels of arousal and
motivation. However, emotional engagement
decreased with the second consecutive
exposure to display, suggesting that this
media is highly susceptible to ad fatigue.
Ad blockers are programs that remove
advertisements from an internet user’s
experience online. They target various
forms of online advertising, including text
(e.g., search), image (e.g., display) and
video (e.g., pre-roll) ads.
DEFINITIONS
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
24. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 24
Study participants’ self-reported
attitudes and feelings towards display
advertisements were less than positive.
When asked to think about their typical
reactions towards advertisements
on websites, they described them as
distracting and said they give them only
passing attention.
As long as it doesn’t interfere with my browsing
experience, I don’t mind it. I don’t like when the
advertising makes it difficult for me to view the site.
It is distracting and annoying unless it’s something
that interests me... then I am tempted to click on
it for more information.
Sometimes I will glance at the advertising then
go on with what I’m doing. If it looks interesting,
then I will look on further.
Quotes from participants
about display advertising
WHAT PARTICIPANTS
SAID ABOUT DISPLAY
ADVERTISING:
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
IGNORESPAM
LOOKS
EXPERIENCE
DISTRACTING
PROMOTION
GLANCE
TEMPTED
MIND
GO
LIKE
VIEW
SITE
ANNOYING
CLICK
DISCOUNT
DIFFICULT
INTERESTING
BOTHER SKIP
25. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 25
When viewed, PRE-ROLL provides an exciting media experience that promotes brand
engagement. In this study, it attracted the greatest share of attention towards brand
logos and outperformed display for brand recall by 54%.
Pre-roll offers an exciting, multisensory
media experience that promotes brand
engagement. Of the media tested in
this study, it stimulated the highest
levels of emotional intensity (arousal)
in participants and was the only digital
media that did not produce declines
in emotional engagement through
repeated exposures. Pre-roll also
attracted the greatest share of attention
towards the brand logos – 7% versus
1% to 2% for the other media.
In the post-survey issued to pre-roll
viewers the day following media
exposure, aided brand recall was
above average, with three in five
(57%) remembering the brands they
had seen (outperforming display by
54%). In contrast, offer recall was
below average, with less than half
(45%) of viewers remembering the
offers that had been presented to
them in this format.
Pre-roll draws attention towards
brand logos
Pre-roll viewers spent the highest share of
time focused on the brand logo.
EYE TRACKING
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
26. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 26
Other
These findings suggest that pre-roll’s
highly visual, video-based format may
be effective for making emotional
appeals and creating positive brand
associations, but less so for conveying
promotional messages and driving
specific actions.
Despite pre-roll’s ability to excite
viewers at a neurophysiological level,
consumers consciously perceive it as a
distraction en route to valued content
and entertainment. When asked to
describe their typical reactions to pre-roll
ads, study participants described them
as annoying and disruptive, and many
said they skip them if they can, as soon
as they can.
Participants’ self-reports were
representative of actual consumer
attitudes and behaviour towards pre-roll
in market. Nine in 10 (94%) consumers
skip pre-roll ads when the option is
available,16
four in five (81%) mute
video ads,17
and three in five (62%)
are annoyed with pre-roll advertising.18
Pre-roll viewers dedicated the highest
share of attention to the brand logos
Participants exposed to pre-roll spent the
greatest share of time focused on the brand
logos, while those exposed to direct mail and
email spent the greatest share of time focused
on the call-to-action (CTA) and content.
SHARE OF
ATTENTION:
Product CTA
Offer Content Address
Brand Logos
DIRECT MAIL EMAIL
DISPLAY PRE-ROLL
SHARE OF ATTENTION
BY CREATIVE ELEMENT
7%
7%
4%
2%
1%
7%
2%
2%
7%
8%
10%7%
5%
5%
DIRECT MAIL
EMAIL
DISPLAY
10%
PRE-ROLL
29%
74%
48%
19%
12%
19%
29%
40%
26%
18%
7%
7%
4%
2%
1%
7%
2%
2%
7%
8%
10%7%
5%
5%
DIRECT MAIL
EMAIL
DISPLAY
10%
PRE-ROLL
29%
74%
48%
19%
12%
19%
29%
40%
26%
18%
7%
7%
4%
2%
1%
7%
2%
2%
7%
8%
10%7%
5%
5%
DIRECT MAIL
EMAIL
DISPLAY
10%
PRE-ROLL
29%
74%
48%
19%
12%
19%
29%
40%
26%
18%
7%
7%
4%
2%
1%
7%
2%
2%
7%
8%
10%7%
5%
5%
DIRECT MAIL
EMAIL
DISPLAY
10%
PRE-ROLL
29%
74%
48%
19%
12%
19%
29%
40%
26%
18%
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
27. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 27
In this study, the 16-second pre-roll
advertisements were viewed in full by all
participants because the option to skip
was not presented to them.
It better be really funny or shocking in the first 5
seconds or I am not paying attention. If I can’t skip
then I usually do something else for the 30 seconds.
Rather annoying. I am usually happy once I can
skip the ad to view the video.
I feel “UGHHH”. And then I see how long the
advertisement will last and if I have the option to
skip it... I often skip it right away.
Quotes from participants
about pre-roll advertising
WHAT PARTICIPANTS
SAID ABOUT PRE-ROLL
ADVERTISING:
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS
ANNOYING
TRYING
SKIP
USUALLY
SECONDS
UGHHH
LONGADVERTISING
FUNNY
VIDEO
SECONDS
WAIT
VIEW
USUALLY
OPTION
DISTRACTING
GLANCE
28. RESEARCH RESULTS
Integrated campaigns that include direct
mail elicit greater consumer attention and
betterprovokethe emotional engagement
and brand recall that drive action than
single-media digital campaigns.
We’ve just explored the different engagement
styles that direct mail and digital advertising
media (email, display and pre-roll) have to offer
on their own. Now, how are consumer attention,
emotional engagement and recall impacted
when we pair them together in an integrated
media campaign?
COMBINATION EFFECTS
KEY TAKEAWAY #2
29. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 29
17
19
39%
DIFFERENCE
23
27
DIGITAL
ONLY
1ST
EXPOSURE
DIGITAL &
DIRECT MAIL
2ND
EXPOSURE
63 62
EMAIL
EMAIL>
DIRECTMAIL
EMAIL>
71 53
EMAIL
DIRECTMAIL>
EMAIL–AVERAGE
DIRECTMAIL&
1ST
EXPOSURE 2ND
EXPOSURE
INTEGRATED DIRECT MAIL AND DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS elicit 39% more
attention (time spent) than single-media digital campaigns.
Integrated direct mail and email campaigns
sustain attention over multiple exposures.
COMBINATION EFFECTS
Direct mail and email: Integrated
direct mail and email campaigns
sustain attention over multiple
exposures, eliciting roughly the same
amount of time spent as email-only
campaigns – 62 seconds versus 63
seconds – but less time than direct
mail-only campaigns (68 seconds).
As we saw earlier, direct mail engages
consumers over a relatively long timeframe.
When it’s paired with digital advertising in
an integrated campaign, direct mail helps
optimize overall attention paid. This increases
the opportunity for brands and advertising
messages to be noticed and, by extension, to
provoke the emotional engagement and recall
that drive action.
FINDINGS:
TIME SPENT
TIME SPENT
DIRECT MAIL AND EMAIL
(TWO EXPOSURES, SECONDS)
DIGITAL
ONLY
DIGITAL &
DIRECT MAIL
1ST
EXPOSURE2ND
EXPOSURE
30. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 30
DIRECT MAIL AND DISPLAY
(TWO EXPOSURES, SECONDS)
DIRECT MAIL AND PRE-ROLL
(TWO EXPOSURES, SECONDS)
14 40 41 38
DISPLAY
DISPLAY>
DIRECTMAIL
DISPLAY>
DISPLAY
DIRECTMAIL>
DISPLAY–AVERAGE
DIRECTMAIL&
186%
DIFFERENCE
186% more time is spent with integrated
direct mail and display campaigns than
display-only campaigns.
57% more time is spent
with integrated direct mail
and pre-roll campaigns than
pre-roll-only campaigns.
COMBINATION EFFECTS
Direct mail and display: 186%
more time is spent with integrated
direct mail and display campaigns
than display-only campaigns – 40
seconds versus 14 seconds.
Direct mail and pre-roll: 57%
more time is spent with integrated
direct mail and pre-roll campaigns
than pre-roll-only campaigns – 47
seconds versus 30 seconds.
TIME SPENT
TIME SPENT
30
47
PRE-ROLL
PRE-ROLL>
DIRECTMAIL
PRE-ROLL>
51 43
PRE-ROLL
DIRECTMAIL>
PRE-ROLL–AVERAGE
DIRECTMAIL&
57%
DIFFERENCE
31. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 31
OBSERVATIONS
COMBINATION EFFECTS
Integrated direct mail and email
campaigns sustain attention for
longer than any of the other
integrated media campaigns, making
this a fitting media combination
for longer-form content and more
complex messages.
When paired with display, direct mail
brings needed attention to brands
and advertising messages that would
have otherwise received selective
focus, if noticed at all.
When paired with pre-roll,
direct mail complements video’s
passive, automatic, fixed-duration
engagement with the more active,
attentive and thoughtful engagement
that comes with reading text.
Direct mail’s opportunity to capture
attention is multiplied when we
take these findings outside the lab
environment and consider the visibility
inherent in its physical format. That is,
four in five (81%) consumers display
advertising mail that interests them
in their homes, creating repeated
opportunities for brand exposure
and engagement.19
32. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 32
4.58
4.80
DIGITAL
ONLY
DIGITAL &
DIRECT MAIL
5%
INCREASE
INTEGRATED DIRECT MAIL AND DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS trigger 5% more
emotional intensity (arousal) than single-media digital campaigns.
Emotions are the powerhouse of consumer
experience. They underpin the success of
all marketing initiatives, whether brand or
performance-oriented, because they trigger
both actions and feelings.
One dimension of emotion, arousal, brings
excitement. The other, motivation, brings desirability.
Taken alone, each of the media tested in this
study play upon consumer emotions in different
ways. Direct mail is known for its ability to inspire
high levels of desirability, particularly when it has
strong sensory appeal. Display and pre-roll, on
the other hand, stimulate excitement.
Emotional engagement with campaigns is generally
higher when direct mail is included in the mix, but
direct mail’s specific impact varies depending on the
media involved and their sequence.
AROUSAL
COMBINATION EFFECTS
DIGITAL
ONLY
DIGITAL &
DIRECT MAIL
33. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 33
FINDINGS:
Direct mail and email: Integrated direct mail and email campaigns mitigate email fatigue by
bringing up to 8% more arousal and up to 4% more motivation to the second media exposure.
COMBINATION EFFECTS
4.51
4.25
4.44
4.06
4.44
3.92
4.89
8%
INCREASE
4.51
4.25
4.44
4.06
4.44
3.92
4.98
4.87
4.89
4.97
4.89
4.78
8%
INCREASE
4%
INCREASE
Email >
Email
Email >
Email
Direct Mail
> Email
Direct Mail >
Email
Email >
Direct Mail
Email >
Direct Mail
AROUSAL AND MOTIVATION
BY EXPOSURE:
DIRECT MAIL AND EMAIL
AROUSAL
MOTIVATION
4.50
4.86
4.25
4.67
4.87
4.84
AROUSAL AND MOTIVATION
BY CAMPAIGN:
DIRECT MAIL AND EMAIL
AROUSAL
MOTIVATION
4.50
4.86
4.25
4.67
4.87
4.84
Email>
Email
DirectMail
>Email
Email>
DirectMail
Email>
Email
DirectMail
>Email
Email>
DirectMail
1ST
EXPOSURE 2ND
EXPOSURE
34. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 34
4.58
5.00
4.58
5.76
4.96
4.96
26%
INCREASE
Direct mail and display: Integrated direct mail and display campaigns trigger up to 26%
more arousal than display-only campaigns. Compared to display-only campaigns, these
integrated campaigns also stimulate greater motivation in the second media exposure.
COMBINATION EFFECTS
4.87
5.02
4.51
4.58
4.92
4.87
4.82
4.87
4.98
4.96
5.02
4.95
5.02
4.93
4.51
4.58
4.92
4.87
4.82
AROUSAL AND MOTIVATION
BY EXPOSURE:
DIRECT MAIL AND DISPLAY
AROUSAL
MOTIVATION
4.58
5.00
4.58
5.76
4.96
4.96
26%
INCREASE
AROUSAL AND MOTIVATION
BY CAMPAIGN:
DIRECT MAIL AND DISPLAY
AROUSAL
MOTIVATION
Display>
Display
Display>
Display
Display >
Display
Display >
Display
DirectMail
>Display
DirectMail
>Display
Direct Mail
> Display
Direct Mail
> Display
Display>
DirectMail
Display>
DirectMail
Display >
Direct Mail
Display >
Direct Mail
1ST
EXPOSURE 2ND
EXPOSURE
35. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 35
4.67
4.95
4.47
5.04
4.93
5.06
8%
INCREASE
2%
INCREASE
Direct mail and pre-roll: Integrated direct mail and pre-roll campaigns trigger up to 8%
more arousal and up to 2% more motivation than pre-roll-only campaigns.
COMBINATION EFFECTS
4.71
4.94
5.18
4.51
5.07
4.59
4.71
5.51
4.71
4.98
4.93
4.94
4.92
4.94
5.18
4.51
5.07
4.59
4.71
5.51
AROUSAL AND MOTIVATION
BY EXPOSURE:
DIRECT MAIL AND PRE-ROLL
AROUSAL
MOTIVATION
4.67
4.95
4.47
5.04
4.93
5.06
8%
INCREASE
2%
INCREASE
AROUSAL AND MOTIVATION BY
CAMPAIGN:
DIRECT MAIL AND PRE-ROLL
AROUSAL
MOTIVATION
Pre-Roll>
Pre-Roll
Pre-Roll>
Pre-Roll
Pre-Roll >
Pre-Roll
Pre-Roll >
Pre-Roll
DirectMail
>Pre-Roll
DirectMail
>Pre-Roll
Direct Mail
> Pre-Roll
Direct Mail
> Pre-Roll
Pre-Roll>
DirectMail
Pre-Roll>
DirectMail
Pre-Roll >
Direct Mail
Pre-Roll >
Direct Mail
1ST
EXPOSURE 2ND
EXPOSURE
36. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 36
OBSERVATIONS
Interspersing display and email
campaigns with direct mail may mitigate
the ad fatigue that these digital media
are susceptible to by maintaining
emotional engagement over time.
When used as a follow-up to pre-roll,
direct mail introduces a more active and
considered form of engagement that lifts
overall excitement and motivation.
Outside the lab environment, direct
mail’s emotional impact on consumers is
owed to more than its physical format.
In a 2015 ethnographic study, we found
that the routine of checking, sorting
and attending to the mail is so valued
by consumers that they often ritualize
it. In so doing, they imbue the process
with sentiment, making them more
susceptible to inspiration from brands.20
COMBINATION EFFECTS
37. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 37
INTEGRATED DIRECT MAIL and digital campaigns elicit 10% higher brand recall
than single-media digital campaigns.
Direct mail and email: Integrated
direct mail and email campaigns elicit
up to 23% higher brand recall than
email-only campaigns.
Brand awareness – particularly top-of-mind
awareness – is tightly linked with purchase
behaviour. That is, consumers are more likely
to make purchases from brands they can easily
recognize or remember than unknown brands.
In the integrated media study, brand recall was
10% higher, on average, among participants
exposed to the integrated campaigns that
included direct mail than the single-media
digital campaigns.
FINDINGS:
COMBINATION EFFECTS
BRAND RECALL
Integrated direct mail and email campaigns
elicit up to 23% higher brand recall than
email-only campaigns.
EMAIL & DIRECT MAIL
23%
INCREASE
60%
4.95
50%
74%
Email >
Email
Direct Mail
> Email
Email >
Direct Mail
10%
INCREASE
51%
56%
DIGITAL
ONLY
DIGITAL &
DIRECT MAIL
DIGITAL
ONLY
DIGITAL &
DIRECT MAIL
BRAND RECALL
BRAND RECALL
38. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 38
Direct mail and display:
Integrated direct mail and
display campaigns elicit up to
46% higher brand recall than
display-only campaigns.
Direct mail and pre-roll:
Pre-roll-only campaigns elicit
slightly (8%) higher brand recall
than integrated direct mail and
pre-roll campaigns.
COMBINATION EFFECTS
46%
INCREASE
37%
4.95
54%
50%
Display >
Display
Direct Mail
> Display
Display >
Direct Mail
57%
4.95
51%
54%
53%
AVERAGE =
8%
INCREASE
Pre-Roll >
Pre-Roll
Direct Mail
> Pre-Roll
Pre-Roll >
Direct Mail
Integrated direct mail and display campaigns
elicit up to 46% higher brand recall than
display-only campaigns.
Pre-roll-only campaigns elicit slightly (8%)
higher brand recall than integrated direct
mail and pre-roll campaigns.
BRAND RECALL
DISPLAY & DIRECT MAIL
PRE-ROLL & DIRECT MAIL
39. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 39
As we saw earlier, display attracts
the least attention and generates
the lowest brand recall, while direct
mail attracts the most attention and
generates the highest brand recall. In
integrated campaigns, direct mail helps
compensate for display’s limitations.
This holds true regardless of whether
direct mail is experienced before or
after display.
Direct mail has a powerful effect on
brand recall when it’s experienced as
a follow-up to email. This suggests
this text-driven media mix can be an
effective formula for building brand
recognition and top-of-mind awareness.
Outside the lab environment, direct
mail also builds brand recognition
through its lasting presence in
consumers’ homes and the repeated
brand engagement that comes with
it. Take catalogues, for instance. Two
in five (40%) Canadians typically keep
catalogues for at least a month, while
one in five (20%) keep them for at
least four months.21
COMBINATION EFFECTS
OBSERVATIONS
40. RESEARCH RESULTS
Media sequencing matters. This study suggests
direct mail’s impact on consumer engagement
with integrated campaigns may be strongest
when it follows digital advertising.
We’ve examined how direct mail and digital
advertising media engage consumers on their own
and in various combinations. Now, what effects
does the sequencing of direct mail and digital
media within integrated campaigns bring to bear
on consumer engagement?
Inthisstudy,wefoundthatinmostcases,campaigns
in which direct mail followed digital advertising
had the strongest impact on both emotional
engagement and brand recall.
SEQUENCING EFFECTS
KEY TAKEAWAY #3
41. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 41
54%
53%
AVERAGE =
40%
INCREASE
50%
50%
66%
57%
37%
60%
74%
51%
54%
BRAND RECALL peaks when direct mail follows email, outperforming the
average for the other single and integrated media campaigns by 40%.
DIGITAL & DIRECT MAIL SINGLE MEDIA
Email>
DirectMail
DirectMail>
Display
Pre-Roll>
DirectMail
DirectMail>
Pre-Roll
DirectMail>
Email
Display>
DirectMail
DirectMail>
DirectMail
Email>
Email
Pre-Roll>
Pre-Roll
Display>
Display
BRAND RECALL PEAKS when direct mail follows email, outperforming the
average for the other single and integrated media campaigns by 40%.
SEQUENCING EFFECTS
Study participants exposed to email
before direct mail outperformed the
other groups on the aided brand recall
test the following day by a significant
margin (40%), with almost three in four
(74%) accurately recalling the brands
they had seen.
BRAND RECALL
40%
INCREASE
53%
74%
OTHER
CAMPAIGNS
EMAIL >
DIRECT MAIL
42. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 42
AROUSAL PEAKS when direct mail follows display, outperforming the average
for the other single and integrated media campaigns by 26%.
SEQUENCING EFFECTS
In the integrated media study, arousal
was consistently higher among
participants exposed to campaigns
in which direct mail followed digital
advertising, and peaked when direct mail
followed display, outperforming the other
campaigns by 26%.
26%
INCREASE
OTHER
CAMPAIGNS
DISPLAY >
DIRECT MAIL
4.58
5.76
4.47
4.25
4.67
4.50
4.50
4.58
5.76
5.04
4.58
4.67
4.58
AVERAGE =
26%
INCREASE
AROUSAL peaks when direct mail follows display, outperforming the average
for the other single and integrated media campaigns by 26%.
DIGITAL & DIRECT MAIL SINGLE MEDIA
Display>
DirectMail
Pre-Roll>
DirectMail
Email>
DirectMail
DirectMail>
Display
DirectMail>
Pre-Roll
DirectMail>
Email
Pre-Roll>
Pre-Roll
Display>
Display
DirectMail>
DirectMail
Email>
Email
AROUSAL
OTHER
CAMPAIGNS
DISPLAY >
DIRECT MAIL
43. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 43
MOTIVATION PEAKS when direct mail follows pre-roll, outperforming the
average for the other single and integrated media campaigns by 3%.
SEQUENCING EFFECTS
Across all the campaigns tested in this
study, the highest level of motivation
was experienced by participants exposed
to pre-roll followed by direct mail. Their
motivation response was 3% higher than
the average for the other campaigns.
Motivation differences between
two measures of 3% or more were
considered significant in this study,
suggesting pre-roll followed by direct
mail can be a powerful campaign
formula for driving consumer action.
MOTIVATION
3%
INCREASE
OTHER
CAMPAIGNS
PRE-ROLL >
DIRECT MAIL
4.93
5.06
4.93
AVERAGE =
3%
INCREASE
4.87
4.84
5.00
4.95
4.86
5.00
5.06
4.96
4.93
4.96
MOTIVATION reaches its peak when direct mail follows pre-roll, outperforming
the other single and integrated media campaigns by 3%.
DIGITAL & DIRECT MAIL SINGLE MEDIA
Pre-roll>
DirectMail
DirectMail>
Display
Display>
DirectMail
DirectMail>
Pre-Roll
DirectMail>
Email
Email>
DirectMail
DirectMail>
DirectMail
Display>
Display
Pre-Roll>
Pre-Roll
Email>
Email
OTHER
CAMPAIGNS
PRE-ROLL >
DIRECT MAIL
44. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 44
OBSERVATIONS
Display ads appear to function as
quick, introductory sparks of interest.
They may augment emotional
engagement with direct mail
offers received afterwards.
Pre-roll – and perhaps video
advertising, more generally – appears
to have a powerful priming effect on
consumers, creating greater desirability
for direct mail offers when they receive
them afterwards.
Brand contact with consumers via
email may promote more meaningful
and memorable engagement with
follow-up direct mail communications.
These findings suggest that in
integrated campaigns, direct mail
may serve as a powerful agent
for propelling prospects down the
purchase funnel. However, it’s
important to keep in mind that the
optimal media mix for any given
campaign will vary depending on
countless factors – the type of product
or service promoted and the marketing
objective, to name just two.
These findings offer marketers across
industries an opportunity to advance
their own media efficiency by using
them as a starting point to apply,
learn from and build upon.
SEQUENCING EFFECTS
45. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 45
CONCLUSION
Direct mail offers a personal, sensory experience that effectively captures and sustains consumer
attention, triggers the emotions that drive action, and optimizes recall. It can even earn brands
a visible and lasting presence in their customers’ homes. When combined with digital media
in integrated campaigns, direct mail amplifies consumer attention, emotional engagement and
brand recall. Its impact is strongest when used as a follow-up, suggesting direct mail can be a
powerful agent for propelling customers forward through the purchase funnel.
Email enforces key marketing messages and promotes recall, helping keep brands and offers
top-of-mind. However, it elicits low levels of motivation, and over-communication can lead
to consumer disengagement. Direct mail mitigates email fatigue by improving emotional
engagement with the medium. It also maximizes brand recall when used as a follow-up.
Display can stir excitement and motivation in consumers. However, it only captures brief sparks
of their attention, at best, leading to low action and recall. Direct mail brings greater attention
to display, improving recall. It also increases emotional engagement with the medium and
maximizes excitement when used as a follow-up.
When viewed, pre-roll offers an exciting, multisensory media experience that promotes brand
engagement. It also demands low active involvement, helping shift consumers into the deeper,
consideration-provoking mindset that direct mail so effectively capitalizes on. Perhaps this
explains why campaigns in which direct mail follows pre-roll maximize consumer motivation
to act.
The findings from this integrated media study advance our understanding of
the role of direct mail, email, display and pre-roll in integrated campaigns and
shed new light on how media sequencing can optimize campaign impact.
46. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 46
The neuromarketing and ethnographic studies that Canada Post commissioned in 2015 shone
a spotlight on the evocative power of direct mail’s physicality. Now, this integrated media
study takes our understanding of direct mail to a new level by putting science behind another
key attribute that is born from its physicality and data-driven nature: its connectivity. With
its personal, portable format, direct mail connects consumers with media, content and offers
across channels, amplifying their impact.
It’s the combination of physicality, data and connectivity that makes direct mail the power
channel for customer activation. And when marketing capitalizes on all three of these
attributes, we call it Smartmail Marketing,TM
The Science of Activation.TM
47. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 47
METHODOLOGY
The researchers recruited 211 respondents to a
central location in Toronto.
The sample included a mix of ages (in the 18 to 64
range) and genders with a general interest in home
furnishings and fashion.
Upon arrival, each participant was assigned to one
of 10 groups – each of which would be exposed
to two different media types for the
two campaigns tested.
Participants were fitted with an EEG headset and
eye-tracking glasses, and benchmarked for metrics.
Physiological measurements were taken
unobtrusively by the research technicians as
participants interacted with the first set of
advertising stimuli specified for their group.
The researchers wanted participants’ experience
of each media to mirror their real-life interactions
with them as closely as possible. To this end,
participants were instructed to retrieve the direct
mail advertisements from an actual mailbox at the
research facility. The email advertisements were sent
to their personal inboxes. The pre-roll advertisements
were presented on a simulated YouTube web page.
And the display advertisements were presented on
a replica of a popular weather website.
APPENDICES
Research procedures
Direct Mail
Email
Pre-Roll
Display
Professionally designed ads were
created for all the media tested.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE
CREATIVE CAMPAIGN
48. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 48
As a distraction task between the first and second media exposures, a 10-minute TED TalkTM
was
shown to participants.
According to many industry experts, a distraction period of as little as five minutes is more than
enough to cleanse the mind between exposures to different stimuli. The longer the period, the
greater the likelihood of forgetting.
Respondents were then exposed to the second set of media stimuli assigned to their group (two
alternative media types of the same two campaigns presented to them in the first exposure).
Respondents’ equipment was removed and they were reminded, as they left, that a survey would
be emailed to them the following day.
An online post-survey was sent to and completed by participants via email the following day.
EEG/Eye-tracking
equipment setup
and calibration
(10 min)
Communication
from 1ST
media
type, Brand A
Communication
from 1ST
media
type, Brand A
Exposure to 1ST
set of stimuli (10 min)
Exposure to 2ND
set of stimuli (10 min)
Equipment
benchmarking
(10 min)
10-minute Ted Talk
distraction task
Equipment removal
and farewell (5 min)
1 DAY DELAY
Post-survey:
conducted online
(15 min)
Communication
from 2ND
media
type, Brand B
Communication
from 2ND
media
type, Brand B
RESEARCH PROCEDURES
TED
TALKS
49. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 49
For all neurometric data analyses,
the researchers ran a general linear
regression model, which took into
account each variable that could
affect results. For the first and
second exposures, they began by
modeling the main effect of the type
of media (channel), followed by the
order of the exposure (first versus
second) and the interaction between
the two main effects.
This approach allowed the researchers
to analyze the individual contributions
of each main effect (e.g., How much
does the type of media explain the
variance in a neurometric score, when
ordering and interaction effects are
taken into account?) as well as the
interaction effects (e.g., How much
does the interaction effect explain
of the variance in neurometric score,
when the main effects of media and
order are taken into account?). It also
explains why the neurophysiological
results reported for overall campaigns
were not straight averages of the
individual (first and second) media
exposures they were comprised of.
Reporting neurometric data
50. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 50
ABOUT THE RESEARCHERS
Elissa Moses, CEO,
Ipsos Neuro & Behavioral Science Center of Excellence
Ms. Moses heads the Ipsos Neuro & Behavioral Science
Center of Excellence and leads the development of
tools and partnerships with leading Neuro experts.
Prior to joining Ipsos, she was Chief Analytics Officer
at EmSense, pioneering Neuro applications to brand
understanding, ad testing, package testing and shopper
research. Earlier in her career, Elissa held management
positions at Philips, Grey, DMB&B, BBDO and as
Founder and Managing Director at The BrainWaves
Group. She is author of The $100 Billion Allowance;
Accessing the Global Teen Market and co-author
of ESOMAR’s “36 Questions to Help Commission
Neuroscience“. She holds a degree in Human Behavior
from the University of Chicago and studied Advertising
and Marketing at Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate
School of Management. elissa.moses@ipsos.com
APPENDICES
IPSOS is one of the top three companies in the global research industry. With a strong presence in 87
countries, Ipsos employs more than 16,000 people and has the ability to conduct research programs
in more than 100 countries. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is controlled and managed by research
professionals. They have built a solid group around a multi-specialist positioning – media and advertising
research; marketing research; client and employee relationship management; opinion and social research;
mobile, online, offline data collection and delivery.
51. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 51
Jessica Reiter, SVP,
Ipsos Neuro & Behavioral Science Center of Excellence
Jessica Reiter is a seasoned researcher with the
ability to translate insights into strategy and distill
consumer nuance to create meaningful brand
experiences. Her career spans client, agency and
market research supplier sides and has the distinction
of deep experience in both traditional market research
techniques as well as cutting edge neuroscience
based approaches. Specifically, she helped pioneer
the use of bio- and neuro-sensory research techniques
at EmSense Corporation where she served as Vice
President, Consumer and Shopper Insights. Just prior
to joining Ipsos, Jessica was Vice President, Human
Experience Strategy Director at MediaVest where
she was responsible for identifying key moments of
consumer receptivity and designing strategies on how
to emotionally connect with consumers for P&G. She
received her BS in Business Administration from Boston
University. She resides in New York City and is based
out of Ipsos’ Avenue of the Americas office in New
York. jessica.reiter@ipsos.com
52. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 52
Dr. Thomas Ramsøy, Founder & CEO, Neurons
Dr. Ramsøy started his career by studying business
economics at the Norwegian School of Economics,
after which he briefly studied philosophy while
working in market research. Dr. Ramsøy then turned to
psychology, where he did his bachelor’s and master’s
degree cum laude, after which he worked as a clinical
neuropsychologist at neurological and psychiatric
hospital departments. In 2004 he entered his PhD in
neurobiology and neuroimaging at the Copenhagen
University Hospital, finishing his thesis in 2008 and
being able to run both MR and EEG brain scanners
from A to Z, developing novel neuroanatomical and
statistical protocols along the way. He was then
invited to establish a research group in conjunction
between the Copenhagen Business School and
Copenhagen University Hospital, which cumulated
into the Center for Decision Neuroscience. Here, Dr.
Ramsøy led a group of researchers that achieved
numerous high impact journal publications, including
Science, PNAS and Psychological Science. During
this period, Dr. Ramsøy established Neurons Inc as
a spin-off from CBS and the university hospital, and
as an incubation process through Lowe’s Innovation
Labs in Silicon Valley. Today, Dr. Ramsøy is regarded
as one of the leading scholars and practitioners in
applied neuroscience, including neuromarketing,
neuroeconomics and related disciplines.
He has published numerous scientific papers, and
has written the first and still only textbook on
neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience.
Dr. Ramsøy is a consultant for Fortune 500
companies on employing neuroscience to
business, and on innovation, and he frequents
the corners of this planet doing workshops,
seminars and establishing university curricula
on applied neuroscience.
NEURONS INC is a consultancy company that applies neuroscience tools and insights to address
challenges in today’s business and society. Neurons is a spin-off from the Copenhagen Business School
and the Copenhagen University Hospital, and it is a result of an incubation process with Fortune 50
company Lowe’s Home Improvement.
53. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 53
SOURCES
BrandSpark, “2015 BrandSpark Canadian Shopper Study”
Canada Post & Harris/Decima, CPC #14-216, “Catalogue Shelf Life Omnibus,” December 2014
Canada Post & Harris/Decima, CPC #15-212, “Direct Mail Engagement Omni,” July 2015
Canada Post / Ipsos, “Neuroscientific Media & Campaign Study,” 2016
Canada Post / TNS, “Consumers and Direct Mail,” CP 13-214, October 2013
Canada Post, “A Bias for Action: The neuroscience behind the response-driving power of direct mail,” July 2015
Canada Post, “Breaking Through the Noise: How direct mail combines the intimacy of ritual, the impact of physicality and the
power of data-driven relevance to send a signal that resonates,” June 2015
eConsultancy, “Pre-roll video ads: is it any wonder why we hate them?,” August 22, 2013 (iMedia Connection cited in the article
as the original source)
eMarketer, “Mobile Ad Blocking on a Steep Ascent Globally,” June 1, 2016
IAB Canada, Digital Advertising Guidelines, January 2015
Marketing Magazine, “20% of Canadian Internet Users Block Ads,” August 13, 2015
Mary Meeker, “2016 Internet Trends Report,” June 1, 2016
Millward Brown, “Using Neuroscience to Understand the Role of Direct Mail,” 2009
Office of the Inspector General, USPS, “Enhancing the Value of Mail: The Human Response,” June 15, 2015
Ramsøy, Thomas Z., PhD, Introduction to Neuromarketing and Consumer Neuroscience, 2015
Royal Mail Market Reach, “The Private Life of Mail,” January 2015
Silverpop, “2015 Email Marketing Benchmark Study”
Sizmek, “Benchmarks Report,” 2013 and 2014
Statistic Brain Research Institute, “Attention Span Statistics,” April 2, 2015
54. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 54
1
All the digital advertisements (email, display and pre-roll) were tested on laptops
2
Statistic Brain Research Institute, “Attention Span Statistics,” April 2, 2015
3
Canada Post, A Bias for Action: The neuroscience behind the response-driving power of direct mail, July 31, 2015
(See also: Royal Mail Market Reach, The Private Life of Mail, January 2015; Office of the Inspector General, USPS,
“Enhancing the Value of Mail: The Human Response, June 15, 2015; Millward Brown, Using Neuroscience to
Understand the Role of Direct Mail, 2009)
4
Canada Post, A Bias for Action: The neuroscience behind the response-driving power of direct mail, July 31, 2015
5
Canada Post, A Bias for Action: The neuroscience behind the response-driving power of direct mail, July 31, 2015
6
BrandSpark, “2015 BrandSpark Canadian Shopper Study”
7
Canada Post / TNS, “Consumers and Direct Mail,” CP 13-214, October 2013
8
Canada Post / Harris Decima, Direct Mail Engagement Omnibus, July 2015
9
Canada Post / Harris Decima, CPC #15-212, Direct Mail Engagement Omni, July 2015
10
Canada Post, “Breaking Through the Noise: How direct mail combines the intimacy of ritual, the impact of physicality
and the power of data-driven relevance to send a signal that resonates,” June 2015
11
Silverpop, 2015 Email Marketing Benchmark Study”
12
Marketing Magazine, 20% of Canadian Internet Users Block Ads, August 13, 2015
55. Canada Post | Connecting for Action | September 2016 | 55
13
eMarketer, “Mobile Ad Blocking on a Steep Ascent Globally,” June 1, 2016
14
IAB Canada, Digital Advertising Guidelines, January 2015
15
Sizmek, Benchmarks Report, 2013 and 2014
16
eConsultancy, “Pre-roll video ads: is it any wonder why we hate them?” August 22, 2013 (iMedia Connection cited
in the article as the original source)
17
Mary Meeker, “2016 Internet Trends Report,” June 1, 2016
18
Mary Meeker, “2016 Internet Trends Report,” June 1, 2016
19
Canada Post / Harris Decima, Direct Mail Engagement Omnibus, July 2015
20
Canada Post, “Breaking Through the Noise: How direct mail combines the intimacy of ritual, the impact of physicality
and the power of data-driven relevance to send a signal that resonates,” June 2015
21
CPC #14-216, “Catalogue Shelf Life Omnibus,” December 2014
56. TM
Trademarks of Canada Post Corporation.All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.